NATO-Russia relations

For more than two decades, NATO has strived to build a partnership with Russia, developing dialogue and practical cooperation in areas of common interest. Cooperation has been suspended in response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, which the Allies condemn in the strongest terms. Political and military channels of communication remain open. NATO remains concerned by Russia’s continued destabilising pattern of military activities and aggressive rhetoric, which goes well beyond Ukraine.

News

I just met with the Foreign Minister of Turkey Feridun Sinirlioğlu to discuss the recent military actions of the Russian Federation in and around Syria. Including the unacceptable violations of Turkish airspace by Russian combat aircraft.

The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels on Tuesday (19 May 2015). The Secretary General restated NATO's position on Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea and its continued destabilisation of eastern Ukraine. He urged all parties to implement the Minsk agreements in full, and called on Russia to withdraw its troops and support for the separatists in eastern Ukraine. Stressing the importance of transparency and predictability related to military activities, Mr Stoltenberg voiced concern about the large number of snap exercises conducted by Russia. The Secretary General made clear that NATO's policy remains unchanged. As a result of Russia's aggressive actions in Ukraine, NATO decided in April 2014 to suspend all practical cooperation with Russia, while keeping open political channels of communications.

NATO Review

A personal take on NATO-Russia relations
13 Jun. 2017Fifteen years after the NATO-Russia Council was established, Radoslava Stefanova, Head of NATO’s Russia and Ukraine Relations Section, looks back in disappointment at how the high hopes for the NATO-Russia partnership have been dashed.

Russian intelligence is at (political) war
12 May. 2017It would be a mistake to see the Russian security and intelligence services as analogues of those of the West. Mark Galeotti, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations Prague stresses that ''in terms of their missions, interactions and mindsets, they are on a wartime footing.''

Ukraine three years on: a basis for optimism
10 Mar. 2017Three years after the appearance of ‘little green men’ – a prelude to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and its so-called hybrid war in the Donbas – James Sherr of Chatham House looks at the issues at stake and the challenges ahead.

How information war can kill
18 Dec. 2014The information war which has broken out over Russia’s actions in Ukraine has largely been seen as two sides projecting differing opinions. But the way information is controlled, twisted and spread can have serious effects. We look at how information affected the lives of thousands – possibly millions – of people when it was manipulated following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Ukraine: what it hopes to leave behind
01 Dec. 2014Ukraine is facing change. It is hoping to look forward to less interference, corruption and conflict. Here are some images of what the country hopes to leave behind.

Honesty or bust
01 Dec. 2014Ukraine is changing by the day. NATO Review looks at some of the things the country hopes to leave behind.

Why perception is different to reality
14 Nov. 2014In this edition of NATO Review, we look at the difference between perception and reality. Whether the perception of Russia’s President Putin as a master strategist matches the reality on the ground. In my interview with Ukrainian expert Alexander Motyl, it becomes apparent that Putin has probably lost control of the situation he helped create. Motyl sets out three areas where Putin is actually in a weaker position in Ukraine than he was at the start of the year.

Three ways that Putin's Ukraine strategy has backfired
06 Nov. 2014Russia had a key ally running Ukraine in President Yanukovych at the beginning of this year. The country was weakened by its ingrained corruption. And Ukrainian armed forces did most of their work in far off peacekeeping missions. President Putin’s actions have changed all this. And not in his favour.

Russia, Ukraine and Crimea: a predictable crisis?
03 Jul. 2014How much could we have seen the Crimea crisis coming? NATO Review talks to security experts and asks whether there were enough clues in Russia's previous adventures - especially in Estonia and Georgia - to indicate that Crimea would be next.

NATO enlargement and Russia: myths and realities
03 Jul. 2014Part of the Russian narrative of the past 20 years is that the West reneged on promises not to enlarge NATO membership up to Russia's borders. But this is not a pledge included in any official treaties or agreements. So where did the story come from? Michael Rühle takes on the myths and realities of the Russian narrative.

Ukraine and Russia: the perceptions and the reality
03 Jul. 2014In this edition, we try to look at how much misunderstandings (real or deliberate) played in the Ukraine crisis. For example, how much does Russia’s belief that the West had betrayed them over NATO enlargement really explain their actions in Ukraine? And where did this misunderstanding come from?

Changing international borders in Ukraine: Crimea – Russia’s bold move
02 Sep. 2014What's the difference between an annexation, a unification and an international border change? A lot, argues Dr Magnus Bjarnason. In this article, he illustrates how moves to change the map - such as in Russia's annexation of Crimea - have been carried out over recent decades. And he provides an analysis of the risks and rewards that these moves carry.

Ukraine-Russia conflict: has globalisation helped or hindered responses?
02 Sep. 2014Countries have increased their links in a smaller, globalised world. But reactions to Russia's actions in Ukraine mean that a brake has to be put on some of this interlinking. Has globalisation made it easier or more difficult to react? Has it made it impossible to punish Russia without suffering pain at home? And where next for the sanctions and counter-sanctions?

Ukraine and Russia: the perceptions and the reality (2)
02 Sep. 2014Since our last edition on Ukraine and Russia, we've seen increased incursions by Russia, more sanctions by the West and heightened scepticism of President Putin's proclamations. So where has this split between the West and Russia left the process of galloping globalisation? And have the resulting splits spread to relations between allied Western countries? In this edition, NATO Review looks at the global side of a regional conflict in Ukraine.

The reasons the Baltics still fear Russia
09 Oct. 2014In this edition, we have spoken to some of those who championed freedom while their home countries laboured under Cold War Soviet occupation. People who fled their countries in fear of their lives. People who were deported because of their families’ views. People who had members of their families die because of the occupation.In edition, we have spoken to some of those who championed freedom while their home Cold War Soviet occupation. People who fled their countries in fear of their lives. People who were deported because of their families’ views. People who had members of their families die because of the occupation.

Afghanistan post-2014: what's Russia's view?
28 Feb. 2014Russia's interest in what happens in Afghanistan and Central Asia is well known. What isn't is how they see their involvement in the region after 2014, after the ISAF operation in Afghanistan ends. NATO Review asks what the Russian approach will be and what issues are of most interest to them.

NATO and Russia: uneasy partners
28 Feb. 2014Officially, NATO and Russia don't see each other as enemies. In practice, they actually collaborate in several areas. So why the bad mood music between the two?

NATO-Russia: the relationship in pictures
28 Feb. 2014This photostory has a few familiar - but also a few surprising - pictures outlining NATO and Russia's recent relationship. It aims to highlight some of the areas which have been challenging, including Ukraine and Syria. But it also illustrates some areas where, quietly and progressively, NATO and Russia are still working together in some key areas.

Missile defence: mutually assured distrust?
28 Feb. 2014Russia's interest in what happens in Afghanistan and Central Asia is well known. What isn't is how they see their involvement in the region after 2014, after the ISAF operation in Afghanistan ends. NATO Review asks what the Russian approach will be and what issues are of most interest to them.

NATO-Russia: re-reset?
09 Aug. 2013Forget the headlines showing tension between NATO countries and Russia, says Konstatin von Eggert. It's the low profile cooperation taking place regularly between the two that will help build a foundation for better long term relations, he argues.

NATO-Russia relations: 20 years after the USSR
01 Aug. 2011NATO and Russia cooperate on Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, search and rescue and a host of other areas. So where's the problem? In this edition, we look from both angles at what's gone right - and not so right - in the NATO-Russia relationship. And how this may soon have to change.

Taking the temperature: what the Russian experts think
30 Jun. 2011How do Russian experts see NATO's evolving relationship with NATO in areas such as missile defence, Afghanistan and other security issues? Here, we present the results of a survey of Russian experts by the independent Atlantic Initiative.

NATO and Russia: doomed to disappointment?
11 Jul. 2011James Sherr of Chatham House argues that different understanding on either side of the NATO-Russia relationship keep leading to unwanted outcomes. And until each side accepts the other's understanding of what security means, he believes this will be a recurrent theme.

Russia and NATO: time to abandon illusions
30 Jun. 2011Today is the moment for Russia and NATO to end seeing each other through the Cold War prism, argues Fyodor Lukyanov. Twenty first century challenges requires both sides to challenge of their 20th century hangovers.

One step forward...
30 Jun. 2011Konstatin Eggert was the Editor in Chief of BBC's Moscow office for over 10 years. Here, he argues that the relationship between Russia and NATO will forever be defined by encouraging steps forward hampered by regular setbacks. But soon, other regional factors may become even more important.

How NATO is perceived in Russia (or lessons in optimism)
30 Jun. 2011Robert Pszczel is NATO's face in Russia. The head of NATO's Moscow office, he now both talks about - and listens to opinions on - NATO's evolving partnership with Russia. Here he explains some of the feedback - and why it's positive to be an optimist.